Personal Identity and City Life

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Uses of Disorder by Richard Sennett

Book Description

Richard Sennett is one of the world's leading sociologists, and this book, first published in 1970, was his first single-authored work. It launched his exploration of communities and how they live in cities, and outlined his view that order breeds narrow, violence-prone lives, while an 'equilibrium of disorder' brings vigour and diversity to urban life. "The New York Times" described it as 'the best available contemporary defence of anarchism'. "The Uses of Disorder" followed the student and urban rebellions of the late 1960s. But it remains uncannily apposite to the problems of city life forty years on. In a new preface Sennett considers the response to the book over those years, and relates it to the circumstances faced by the inhabitants of cities in the twenty-first century. The body of the text remains unchanged, ready for a new generation of readers.

Books By Author Richard Sennett

Living with people who differ - racially, ethnically, religiously or economically - is one of the most urgent challenges facing civil society. This book argues that co-operation needs more than good will: it is a craft that requires skill. It explores the nature of co-operation, why it has become weak and how it can be strengthened.

Paris in the nineteenth century was a magnet for Europe's exiles, among them the Russian genius, Alexander Herzen, who described the experience of displacement from the inside. Richard Sennett plunges into this vibrant, anxious world to recreate the experiences of Herzen and his contemporaries.

Most of us have to work. But is work just a means to an end? In trying to make a living, have we lost touch with the idea of making things well? This book offers an exploration of craftsmanship - the desire to do a job well for its own sake - as a template for living.

Looks at the ways the global form of capitalism affects our lives. This book analyzes how changes in work ethic, in our attitudes toward merit and talent, and in public and private institutions contributes to 'the spectre of uselessness'. It concludes with suggestions to counter this disturbing culture.

Author Biography - Richard Sennett

Richard Sennett is professor of social and cultural theory at the London School of Economics, and Bemis Professor of Social Science at MIT. Among his books is The Culture of the New Capitalism (2006), published by Yale.

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